Chapter  2  

Communication  (Journal)    

  How  often  have  you  thought  you  explained  something  well  only  to  discover  that  your  friend  did  not  understand?    

  What  silly  conversational  mistakes  have  caused  some  serious  misunderstandings  in  your  life?    

  Can  you  identify  exactly  why  the  problems  happened  

Communication  is  

  A  process  of  sending  and  receiving  communication  

  Communication  involves  certain  essential  elements    Verbal  messages    Non-­‐verbal  messages    Perception    Channel    Feedback    context  

Verbal  Messages  

  Are  spoken  words,  we  use  for  communication    Involve  both  the  choice  of  words  and  the  order  of  the  words  in  a  sentence    Words  do  not  have  same  meaning  for  everyone    Words  also  change  meaning  over  time  

  Communicators  need  to  know  how  to  select  the  most  exact  words  to  get  their  message  across  accurately  

Idiomatic  expressions  

  Cannot  really  derived  from  literal  meaning  of  the  words  

  Examples:    “Keep  tabs  on”    “Take  a  walk”    “Beat  the  clock”    “Bite  the  dust”    “Pull  a  fast  one”    “Raise  the  roof”  

Who  might  understand  the  meaning  of  these  statements?    “Whisk  vinegar,  olive  oil,  and  shallots  together”  

  “Write  an  equation  for  each  problem”    “Use  a  clove  hitch  a  tie  and  line  to  the  piling”    “Click  a  start  button  in  Windows  Vista”    “The  switch-­‐hitter  is  5  to  21  with  three  home  runs”  

  “The  next  five  measures  are  andante”  

Predict  what  problems  someone  might  have  in  understanding  the  following  statements:  

  “Don’t  have  a  cow,  man.”    “Quit  acting  like  a  wannabe.”    “Take  the  scoop  up  and  attach  it  to  the  batten.”  

Differences  in  Meaning  

  Different  people  may  have  difficulty  understanding  the  same  message  even  when  all  the  words  are  English.  

  Not  all  words  mean  the  same  thing  to  all  people  

  Even  a  simple  word  like  “right”  has  different  meaning  in  different  situations.      I  have  a  right  to  know    I  have  a  right  answer    Take  a  right  turn  

Small  Group  

  List  a  possible  meaning  of  the  following  words  and  phrases:  

  Expensive  party    See  you  later    Tall    hot    What  a  day!    Free      bad    She  is  cool.  

  What’s  on  Friday  night?    That’s  an  interesting  video.  

Meanings  

  Denotative:  definitions  found  in  dictionary  

  Connotative:  an  emotional  or  personal  response  (positive  or  negative)  to  a  word  

  For  example:      Most  people  would  have  positive  emotional  responses  to  the  words  home,  peaceful,  cozy,  and  friend  and  negative  responses  to  the  words  liar,  anxious,  filthy  and  terrorist.    

Changes  in  Language  

  Language  changes  constantly    Old  words  may  disappear  entirely  or  their  meanings  may  change  

  Example:      The  word  “clepe”  meaning  “to  call”    or  “name”  has  disappeared  from  ordinary  use.  

  The  word  “score”  dates  from  the  14th  century,  and  one  early  definition  of  the  word  is  “twenty”    

  Who  used  the  word  “score”  in  one  of  his  famous  speech?  

Slang  

  Informal  language    It  is  unique  to  a  particular  group    These  word  change  often    Used  in  informal  conversations    Within  a  certain  age  groups    Most  often  understood  by  small  number  of  people  

Interact    

  Interview  someone  over  the  age  of  fifty.  Ask  the  person  list  ten  words  in  use  today  that  he/she  did  not  know  as  a  young  person.  Combine  your  list  with  the  lists  of  three  or  four  other  classmates  and  share  your  findings  with  the  class.    

Nonverbal  Messages  

  Messages  expressed  without  words.      appearance,  facial  expression,  eye  contact,  posture,  gestures  and  voice  affect  how  words  are  understood  

  Factors  like  space,  time  and  place  play  a  major  role  

  We  depend  heavily  on  wordless  communication    

Appearance  

  We  probably  make  quick  first  judgment  about  others  based  on  appearance  

  Who  would  you  ask  for  directions  if  you  are  lost?    

  How  we  dress,  hairstyle,  use  make  up  and    decorations  send  message    

Facial  Expression  &  Eye  Contact    Smiles  or  frowns  tells  others  a  great  deal  about  how  a  person  is  feeling  

  It  reveals  quickly  that  a  person  is  angry,  happy,  frustrated  or  nervous  

  People  believe  eyes  are  the  most  expressive  part  of  the  body  

  Read  feelings  such  as  anger,  surprise  or  delight  

  “The  eyes  are  the  windows  to  the  soul”  

Posture,  Walk  &  Gestures  

Voice  

  Not  what  is  said  but  how  it  is  said  conveys  important  messages  

  Pitch—high  or  low  tone  of  voice    Rate—quickly  or  slowly;  the  pace      Vocal  Quality—tone  or  sound  of  voice    Volume—the  loudness  and  softness  of  voice  

Voice    

  Some  voices  put  listeners  to  sleep  and  others  make  listeners  to  pay  attention  

  You  need  to  vary  your  voice  in  order  to  hold  your  audiences  attention  

  Change  in  voice  make  your  speech  interesting  and  help  make  your  meaning  clear  

Space,  Time  and  Place  

  Contextual  clues    Bubble    Rushed    Privacy    Setting  shape  the  way  you  communicate  

Speaking  Non-­‐Verbally  

1.  Handout  for  Pantomime  2.  Read  the  handout  carefully  3.  The  Pantomime  speeches  are  due  

Feelings  

  You  depend  heavily  on  nonverbal  messages  to  understand  feelings  and  attitudes.    

  Good  communicators  learn  to  read  nonverbal  cues  rather  than  relying  only  on  the  verbal  message  

   so  much  is  communicated  nonverbally.    actions  speak  louder  than  words.  

Nonverbal  and  cultures  

  Nonverbal  messages  differ  according  to  culture.  

   Many  American  business  executives  have  to  be  taught  how  to  understand  the  nonverbal  messages  of  different  cultures  

Good  communicator  

  Verbal  and  nonverbal  messages  are  central  to  the  communication  process.  

   A  good  communicator  sends  and  interprets  both  verbal  and  nonverbal  messages  skillfully.  

  Communicator  understands  the  vocal  production  process.    

  Messages  are  only  one  element  of  the  whole  communication  process.  

Perception    The  process  of  giving  information  you  learn  through  your  five  senses  is  called  perception.    

  It  involves  two  steps:    1.   Something  affects  your  senses.  (You  see,  

hear,  taste,  smell,  or  touch  something)  2.    You  interpret  and  explain  the  sensation  to  

yourself.  (You  give  meaning  to  what  you  are  seeing,  hearing,  tasting,  smelling,  or  touching)  

Perception  

  The  meaning  of  a  message  tends  to  change  as  it  moves  from  person  to  person.    

  This  explains  many  misunderstandings  and  conflicts  that  interfere  with  communication.  

  The  meanings  change  because  the  perception  process  can  vary  with  the  individual.  

Physical  Difference  

  Most  people  have  the  use  of  all  their  senses,  they  may  have  very  different  abilities.      Far  or  near  sightedness    Variant  hearing  

  Such  physical  problems  may  affect  a  person  ability  to  take  in  information  through  his  or  her  senses.  

Past  Experiences  

  Our  past  experiences  add  to  differences  to  perception  and  to  our  ability  to  understand  what  we  perceive.    

  Past  experiences  may  range  from  those  that  are  considered  general,  to  those  shared  by  many  people  you  know.  

  Your  past  experiences  will  influence  how  you  accept  or  reject  a  message.  

   They  also  influence  how  people  talk  and  how  they  listen.  

Present  situation  

  How  you  feel  mentally  and  physically  also  affects  communication.      If  you  have  a  headache  or  daydreaming  about  a  person  you  like,  it  may  keep  you  from  paying  close  attention  to  a  conversation.  

Channel  of  Communication    People  need  a  way  to  send  and  receive  their  messages.  

  All  messages  are  sent  through  a  channel  that  uses  the  human  senses.    

  It  is  a  means  by  which  a  message  is  transmitted.    

  Like  a  television  set  or  a  radio,  you  have  many  channels  and  can  switch  them  at  will.    

Channels  of  Communication  

  People  tend  to  place  greater  importance  on  one  channel  than  on  another.    Tone  of  voice    Facial  expressions    Sight    Movement    touch  

Noise    When  a  person  has  trouble  understanding  a  message,  there  is  said  to  be  “noise  in  the  channel.”    

  Noise  is  anything  that  interferes  with  a  listeners’  ability  to  receive  a  message.      Internal      External  

Noise  in  the  channel  can  lead  to  faulty  perception  and  misunderstanding.  

Feedback  

  To  communicate  successfully,  Person  A  must  interpret  Person  B’s  feedback  accurately.  

  When  you  are  communicating,  the  person  you  are  talking  with  responds  to  you  verbally  and  nonverbally.    

  Feedback  consists  of  both  verbal  and  nonverbal  messages  that  tell  speakers  how  they  are  being  perceived.  

Positive  and  Negative  Feedback    Positive  feedback  tells  you  to  continue  what  you  are  doing.    

  Negative  feedback  tells  you  there  is  a  problem  to  deal  with  or  lets  you  know  the  listener  does  not  agree  with  your  ideas.    

  It  is  important  to  recognize  whether  a  listener  is  confused  or  whether  a  listener  is  disagreeing.  

Self-­‐Feedback  

  Self-­‐feedback  is  the  message  you  give  yourself  as  you  pay  attention  to  your  own  behavior.  

  Communication  goes  smoothly  when  speakers  and  listeners  pay  attention  to  feedback.    

  Without  feedback,  speakers  and  listeners  would  not  be  able  to  adapt  to  each  other.  

Context  

 -­‐    Context  is  the  setting  and  people  that  surround  a  message.    

  It  provides  the  background  that  helps  reveal  the  message’s  real  meaning.  

  Setting  is  first  part  of  context.      It  involves  time,  place  and  occasion